Tequila and a Sombrero
by K0nflicti0n
Summary: A mistake between Deeks and Kensi leads to his departure from NCIS and taking on the most dangerous undercover assignment of his Now the Team must scrabble to keep him save while they deal with a most unexpected
1. Chapter 1

**A/N ok so as you all know by now I'm a Densi fan and it's a guilty pleasure of mine. That being said I noticed that during the episode "Blye, K." when Sam and Callen corner Granger in Kensi's apartment there is in fact a Red Sombrero on her bed. It's just a random background prop but the idea for this popped into my head (don't ask it's a scary place at times even for me lol) so I grabbed the random thought and ran with it. Hope you enjoy**

Pain, throbbing techno bass like pain is the first thing that brought the blonde haired surfer from the blissful land of sleep as a single ray of light was shining way to brightly into his eye as it forced its way through a hole in the blinds off to his left. The next thing Marty Deeks noticed that his tongue felt like it weighed five pounds and was made entirely of sandpaper, very course sandpaper. As he rolled over with a groan to escape the ray of sunlight he found that he couldn't roll over to he left all the way because something was stopping him, something that was warm, soft and almost as tall as he was.

Completely confused as to what was going on or where he was he looked around and noticed that he was in a very messy bed room, and it looked familiar but he couldn't seem to remember why. That of course might has something to do with the mother of all hangovers he was experiencing. As he slowly propped himself up on one elbow he had to close his eyes and breathed rapidly through his nose to stop the room, and his stomach from spinning. After finally opening his eyes Deeks was able to tell that a naked Brunette was next to him, she had a ridiculously red sombrero covering her face and was covered from the waist down by a white bed sheet.

"Hey where the hell am I?" Deeks asked with a thicker than usual drawl thanks to his severely dry mouth and he had to cringe at the sound of his own voice. When he received no response he nudged the sleeping woman's shoulder. "Hey."

"Ugh…shut up." The sleepy voice replied and Deeks felt his blood run cold.

'_Oh dear god no.'_ Deeks thought as he looked around and finally put the pieces together. The messy room, the long legged Brunette, that voice he was in bed with Kensi Marie Blye and they were both naked. _'FUCK!'_ Deeks quickly climbed out of bed and looked around the room and found most of his clothes so he grabbed them and practically jumped into his pants and fastened the button. Holding the rest of his clothes in his left hand he staggered as fast as he could from the bedroom and the apartment it was part of in record pace. As he made his way from the room he was pretty sure he heard Kensi mumble something about come back to bed and unable to help himself he stopped and almost turned around when he remembered that this was Kensi, little miss shoots targets in the groin for fun, Blye and he resumed his path that would lead out of her apartment and maybe save his life.

As Deeks ran to his car in only a pair of pants he couldn't help but smile at the fact that he was doing the walk of shame, although it was more like running for his life. A few of Kensi's neighbors looks at the half dressed Detective as he climbed into his car and took off like he was going for the pole position at the Daytona 500. The rest of the drive to his apartment had been uneventful, other than pulling over twice to open the driver side door and throw up what smelled A LOT like Tequila. After throwing up the second time Deeks hangover wasn't as bad but he still had a pounding headache, finally reaching his destination he stumbled up the stairs to his apartment and fumbled with the keys a few times before he finally opened the door and walked in to be greeted by a very excited Monty.

"Ugh not right now buddy. Daddy has a hangover from hell and might end up dead before the day is over." He mumbled to the dog as he walked past him and towards the couch that might as well have a big neon sign that said 'Deeks sleep here' before he flopped down face first and closed his eyes before soon falling asleep.

Back in her apartment Kensi was slowly waking up and when she opened her eyes all she could see was red. As the effects of a Hangover started to hit her she angrily swatted at whatever was in her face and instantly regretted it as she got a face full of sun light. Rolling over as she let out an animalistic growl of annoyance noticed that the other side of her bed was warm, like a body had been in bed with her last night. _'What the hell?'_ A confused thought ran through her head as she opened her eyes and was almost afraid to see some unknown man in her bed. The last thing she remembered was her and Deeks going out to have a few drinks for her birthday, she was pretty sure that the rest of the team had been there but she couldn't really remember much about last night. As Kensi sat up in bed she noticed that she was very much naked. _'Well at least I know of one thing that happened last night.' _She mused since she normally wore some form of sleep ware to bed at night.

Since Kensi always thought of herself as 'one of the guys' she reached down and grabbed the first shirt she could find and slowly threw it over her head. As she did so Kensi noticed that is it was about two sizes too big for her but she didn't think about that too much as she slowly stood up and walked towards her kitchen in search of the only cure she could think of for her hangover, another beer. After stumbling towards the fridge Kensi pulled it open and grabbed a bottle of Landshark and quickly removed the top and wrapped her dry and chapped feeling lips around the cold glass and tilted her head back and downed the bottles contents in one go. After finishing the bottle Kensi let out a most un-lady like belch that she instantly regretted as it sent her stomach into a tap dancing mess and she rushed to the bathroom barely making it to the toilet in time to empty the content of her stomach.

'_Oh god, Tequila.'_ Kensi mentally growled as she reached up and pulled the handle of her toilet down and cringed at the noise since it was so close to her ears. After a few unsteady tries Kensi finally got her feet under her and slowly stood up, noticing that the shirt she was wearing was a grey Rolling Stones shirt. _'At least he has good taste in music.'_ Kensi thought as she stared at the shirt for a few seconds before pulling it over her head and turning around to climb into the shower, praying to whatever deity who would listen that the shower would help with the hangover.

Deeks slowly up woke to the whiney sound of Monty who was sitting in front of him and was practically vibrating, which meant that if Deeks didn't take the dog outside right not he was going to use a random part of the apartment as a bathroom. "Ok ok hold on." Deeks said and Monty lunged to the side and ran to the door and his whining got louder and more inpatient. Grabbing the shirt Deeks had when he left Kensi's apartment he put it on, or tried two when he found out that it was too small and was not the grey Rolling Stones shirt he had worn last night. _'No! I left my shirt at her place. If she finds it she really will kill me.'_ Deeks mentally moaned as he walked to the door and crabbed a zip up hoodie from the hook on the wall and slipped it on as he let Monty out and followed the dog to the nearest patch of grass and was grateful the dog only had to go number one since he had forgotten to bring a plastic baggie with him.

As the duo walked back to Deeks apartment he tried to remember what exactly had happened last night. All he could remember was buying a bottle of Patron at the bar for them to celebrate Kensi's birthday with, this was after they were already fairly drunk. He knew the rest of the team had been there but had left sometime before he had bought the bottle for them. A few images flashed into his mind as he tried to recall what had happened. The two of them making out in the back of a cab, him pinning her against the wall as they continued to make out and he had slinked one hand under the front of her shirt, as he recalled some of the night the Image of a naked Kensi straddling him with that ridiculous red sombrero on was the last thing that popped into his mind.

"Oh god…I'm a dead man." He moaned to himself as he and Monty walked towards his apartment through the parking lot.

"Why's that?" Deeks jumped at the voice of G. Callen behind him and he turned to face the team leader. Suddenly the image of a pissed off Kensi telling Sam and Callen that he had taken advantage of her when she was drunk came to life in Deeks mind and he was suddenly afraid the former CIA Officer was here to kill him.

"Uh…Hey Callen what's up? So what brings you here? Nothing overly important right?" Deeks nervously babbled and Callen just looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Please tell me you're still not drunk Deeks." Callen said evenly as he look at Deeks with a studying gaze. Sure Deeks could be a chatterbox but his nervous and jumpy actions at the moment had Callen wondering what was wrong with him.

"Me? No I'm not drunk just really really hung over. So what's up?"

"We were supposed to meet at Joe's on Main St. an hour ago. Last night you said there was something you wanted to talk about." Callen said evenly as he kept looking at Deeks who seemed to get more and more nervous. "Are you ok Deeks?"

"Huh…oh yeah sorry just drank too much last night. Hey sorry to leave you hanging but can we talk about it later? Just not feeling too great you know?" Deeks asked anxious to get into the relative safety of his apartment.

"You sure? It seemed pretty important when you brought it up at the bar last night. I mean you practically dragged me outside the bar to ask me to meet you at Joe's." Callen said as he was still trying to figure out what the hell was up with the Detective in front of him.

"Yeah it's cool." Deeks said completely out of character as he took a couple steps backwards. "I'll see you Monday." Deeks said as he practically turned and ran to his apartment. Callen laughed at his antics and figured that Deeks had picked up a woman last night who was still in his apartment.

As soon as Deeks practically slammed the door shut he once again found himself wondering what had happened the night before. _'What in the blue hell did I want to talk to Callen about? Think Deeks….ok it had something to do with Hetty and Romania…Oh thank god. It was just about the application she gave me.'_ Deeks sighed heavily as he looked at his cellphone on the coffee table next to his couch and he picked it up and noticed that while he was asleep Kensi had sent him some texts, as in more than one. _'Oh god she knows….Calm down if you don't actually remember what happened there is no way your competitive one upper of a partner can.'_ Deeks reached out a shaky hand and pulled up his texts and noticed he had missed five text messages from her. Deeks swallowed the lump that seemed to instantly form in his throat and he began to read them.

'OMG ssoo hung over right now. I blame you.'

'Hey I need to talk to you about last night.'

Deeks eyes doubled in size and he broke out into a cold sweat. _'Oh sweet Jesus!'_ Unable to help himself he pulled up the next text from his partner who was probably going to kill him now.

'I can't believe I left you to go out with someone last night. I'm sorry.'

Deeks instantly felt a wave of relief wash over him because he was sure that if she had remembered what happened she would have kicked his door in and shot him in the junk already.

'Ok I understand if you're mad but you don't have to ignore me.'

'_More like I was sleeping off the rest of the hangover'_ Deeks sat on the couch and pulled up the last text he had received from her.

'Are you giving me the silent treatment? Real mature Deeks.'

Deeks leaned his head back on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. "Thank you." He said as he continued to look up like he was able to see through the ceiling and into the vast sunny sky above him. Looking down at his phone he quickly typed a reply to her and hit send.

Kensi was sitting on her couch in a pair of lose fitting sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt that belonged to her and not the Rolling Stones shirt that belonged to whoever she had picked up, because let's face it men do not simply pick up Kensi Blye she picks them up, and was watching a Top Model marathon when her phone beeped at her once telling her she had a text message. When she pulled up the message she noticed it was from Deeks and she glared at it before she opened it up.

'Hey sorry sleeping off last night. See you Monday'

Kensi looked at the message and while his reason for not replying was perfectly normal since she couldn't really remember anything from last night other than a bottle of Patron and her wearing that stupid Sombrero. But what was weird is that he wasn't teasing her about taking someone else to her bed. Kensi shrugged it off and put her phone back in her lap and continued to watch the TV.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N They say good things come to those who wait. I say fuck that noise I'll update now! Enjoy**

Deeks was forced awake by his alarm clock he glared at it. 6 A.M. on a Monday morning. While Deeks normally loved the morning he was really not thrilled about today since he would have to face Kensi. _'And there it is again.'_ Deeks thought with a tone of annoyance. Ever since Saturday morning he could not think of Kensi in any manner other than naked with that stupid looking Sombrero on her head. It's not that he wanted to picture his partner naked with a bed sheet riding low on her hips; it's just that he couldn't help not think about it. Especially since that was how she had been the last time he had seen her. Luckily all but a couple images of them were a blank to him, and his body started to react as and red blooded straight man's body would and he growled in annoyance. Quickly getting out of bed Deeks threw on a baggy pair of track pants and a black tank top before he grabbed his running shoes and made his way to the door of his apartment.

As Deeks stretched out the muscles in his legs Deeks couldn't help but notice what a nice morning it was before he took off in a slow easy gait to warm up before he started his run for real. Normally Deeks was one to look at the occasional attractive woman who was out doing the same thing he was but as he kept running Deeks mind soon became a complete blank what was normally a three mile morning running was quickly becoming a 6 mile run. As Deeks came back to reality he began to guide himself back to his apartment knowing that he was going to be running late to work, which would also put off a face to face with Kensi who hopefully hadn't recalled anything from Friday night other than drinking with her partner at the bar.

When Deeks finally arrived back at his apartment he noticed that the time was only a quarter till seven. "Wow that's gotta be a new personal best." Deeks said with a smile and to be honest he felt great for someone who had just run six miles. Normally the most he ever did was four miles. Quickly shedding his sweaty clothes and throwing them in his hamper Deeks climbed into the shower and began his routine of getting himself ready for the day ahead. He even had plenty of time to stop at his favorite coffee shop and get a large Snickers latte with whipped cream instead of foam.

**A/N: At a friend's urging I had one of those today and sweet mother of god was it good! It's like liquid crack! I was only going have one and ended up having three of them in a row LOL**

Sam and Callen were already in the bullpen when Deeks arrived and he both eyed them wearily when the greeted him in a friendly and cheery manner. When Deeks stopped in his tracks at their greeting to him he just stood there looking at them.

"What?" Sam asked almost insulted that Deeks was staring at him like a deer in the headlights.

"Um…..you're both looking at me like you know something I don't, and it's not a fun thing either." Deeks early morning surfer drawl resonated as he moved cautiously to his desk and put his back on it. "You didn't put an air horn under my chair again did you? Cause I really don't feel like having a heart attack today." Deeks said as he looked at his chair and was trying to tell if it was bobby trapped or not.

"Do we look like the sort of agents who would use the same gag twice?" Callen scoffed at him with a sound of mock hurt in his voice as he looked over at Sam. "I don't know if I should be offended or insulted that he thinks so low of us Sam."

"I'm going to with insulted." Sam said seriously as he glared at Deeks who had the good graces to look a little sheepish under the gaze of the rather intimidating former Navy Seal.

"Ok just remember he who laughs last…"

"Was to slow to get the joke at first." Callen said with a smug grin as he cut Deeks off.

"DEEKS!" Kensi suddenly called out rather loudly from behind him as she stuffed her things in the small locker she used near the bullpen. Mistaking her tone of voice as one of anger Deeks jumped and spilled his coffee down the front of his shirt as he turned to face her.

"It's not my fault! I swear I can explain." He quickly said suddenly fearing for his life, until he noticed the completely confused look on her face and the fact that Callen and Sam were staring at him in a mild form of shock.

As Kensi at her partner who had just spazzed out in the middle of the bullpen her confused look slowly morphed into one of suspicion and mild annoyance at him. "What's not your fault and why do you want to explain?" She asked as she took a step forward and noticed that he replied with a step back of his own even though the table he and Sam used as a desk was still between them.

"I….uh….um I thought I was running late and forgot to get donuts this morning." Deeks muttered out in reply and backed up again until his backside bumped into Kensi's side of the table she and Callen shared sending her cluttered collection of whatever was on her desk scattering over to Callen's side and some items falling to the floor. Turning around to stop more things falling from the desk and to the floor Deeks accidently knocked more things over.

"Deeks stop, just stop before you tear down the whole building." Callen said as he looked at the items that had crossed the imaginary line that separate his half of the table from Kensi's cluttered up half.

Deeks looked sheepishly at Callen and took a step back only to bump into the desk lamp of Sam's part of their table knocking it over. "Deeks quit moving!" Sam scolded as he caught his lamp and glared at Deeks.

Looking to his partner for help Deeks noticed that Kensi was now completely confused by what was happening and had an eyebrow raised. "Deeks you sure you ok?"

"What? Yeah I'm ok…..I'm just gonna go…yeah." Deeks said as he pointed in no real direction at all and practically sprinted out of the bullpen and away from the three NCIS Agents he worked with.

"Ok what the hell was that?" Kensi asked as she looked at Sam and Callen who were undoing some of the damage Deeks had caused in what could only be described as something out of a bad sitcom.

"You tell us. He was fine until you came in here." Sam said completely annoyed before he looked up at Kensi who had suddenly found the floor very interesting. "Ok now I know something is up."

"No nothing happened." Kensi shot back to quickly for the two older agents to believe and their shared a knowing look.

"No one asked if anything happened Kensi." Callen said as he slipped into the role of interrogator and studied Kensi's every little move. "But since you brought it up, what did happen?"

"Nothing…ok so maybe I picked up a guy Friday night."

"Really? Because Deeks has never acted….oh." Callen said as a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Oh? Oh what?" Kensi asked wondering what the hell Callen was thinking and she looked at him.

"Last year you forgot his birthday." Callen said and Kensi couldn't help but feel ashamed about that even though it was a year ago. "Friday night he invites everyone out for drinks to celebrate your birthday and you left him to go out with some random guy you met at the bar." Callen said as he looked at her. "No wonder he is acting so weird. You basically dumped your partner for what boils down to a booty call."

"Ok for one I do not do booty calls!" Kensi shot back as her anger flared and she pointed a finger accusingly at Callen. "And two Deeks is my partner so why would he get all moody if I go out with someone else? It was my birthday anyways." Kensi tried to reason with the two of the three men she worked with but after a few uncomfortable seconds of them staring at her Kensi began to feel somewhat unnerved and her shoulder slumped. "Fine I'll go talk to him." She said defeated as she stalked off to find Deeks.

Deeks was 'hiding' in the armory of OSP and was sitting there cleaning his Berretta when Kensi finally found him. As she stepped it the room her boots making noise as she walked to the workbench and stood opposite of him she crossed her arms over her chest when he didn't react to her presence. After looking at him for a couple seconds Kensi could tell from the vacant look in his eyes that the lights were on but no one was home so she loudly cleared her throat, which also received no response. Huffing loudly in annoyance she put her hands on the table and leaned forward. "Hey Deeks." She said louder than a normal conversational tone.

Deeks cried out in surprise at her voice and jumped backwards. Or rather he tried to but due to how close he was sitting to the edge of the workbench his knees caught the underside of the table and both Deeks and the stool he was sitting in went toppling over backwards and he landed rather painfully on his back. "God I hate Mondays." He moaned from the ground in a pain laced hiss.

"Oh my god, Deeks are you ok?" Kensi asked as she rushed around the table and crouched down next to him. When she reached out to put a hand on his shoulder Deeks recoiled and scrambled away from her and back to his feet. "Ok what the fuck is going on with you? You've been jumpy all morning and you act like you can't get far enough away from me." Kensi angrily stated and she scowled at him.

"No it's not that I swear it's just that Friday night…." Deeks trailed off as he almost told her what happened and he stared at her with a slight look of…well she really couldn't tell what the hell type of emotion was displayed on his face.

'Ok look I'm sorry about Friday night." Kensi said as she looked down at the floor, if she had been looking at Deeks she would have notice the hurt look that crossed his features for the barest of moments before he quickly composed himself. "I was really drunk and I know it was stupid of me to leave with someone else when you went out of your way to make sure I had fun….at least I assume we had fun. I really don't remember anything other than showing up at the bar and you buying us a bottle of Tequila to share after everyone else left for the night." Kensi looked up and noticed that Deeks face was a complete mask of emotionlessness and she really did feel bad for abandoning him like she was sure she had. As the two of them stood their looking at each other the room suddenly began to feel very small and this was starting to get really uncomfortable.

It was then that Eric Beale decided to make an appearance as he came around the corner. "Hey guys Hetty wants everyone up in Ops pronto." He said and Deeks quickly moved past Kensi and she was positive he had mumbled something about thanking god for that and she stared at his retreating from.

'_Ok seriously what the fuck is going on with him today?'_ Kensi mentally growled before walking towards Eric who had turned to follow in Deeks wake.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N I like this story it's fun lol and it's a nice break from the drama I've been writing. **

It was a dull end to an equally dull week as Deeks sat staring at his computer willing the clock on located in the lower right corner to move faster. He had been lucky enough to avoid prolong bouts of time with Kensi since most of the week had been spent on paper work and training. He was still jumpy as hell around her, though if anyone knew the truth about Friday night and his rather frantic Saturday morning the would understand, and he had been able to avoid any serious questioning from his co-workers about his erratic behavior but every time he found Hetty looking at him there was something about her gaze that unsettled him. Of course the simple fact that every time they made eye contact she seemed to be holding her letter opener, the only item in her office that was both older than her and just as deadly.

Next to him Deeks registered Sam moving around grabbing his things as he looked around at the rest of the team in the bullpen. "Well Michelle and the kids are visiting her mom for the weekend so anyone up for a few drinks?" As everyone else got a little excited at the offer for drink Deeks spine suddenly became very stiff as his mind immediately raced to what happened the last time he had been drinking with his colleagues and he closed his eyes tightly and ran his thumb and forefinger over his eyes hard enough that it actually hurt ad he tried to force the few mental pictures he had been able to recover away.

"Deeks you ok?" Kensi asked as she looked at her partner with worry evident in her mismatched brown eyes. She knew something was up with Deeks and was sure that he still wasn't made about her ditching him to hook up with some random guy at the bar since Deeks had never been able to stay mad at anyone, well other than himself, for more than five minutes.

Finally pulling his fingers from his now sore eyes Deeks looked at her, it was always interesting to Deeks that his badass ninja assassin 'I'm not good with kids at all' partner went all maternal on him and he couldn't help but give her a small half smile. "Yeah Kens I'm good, just burned out from staring at paperwork and my computer all week is all."

"All the more reason to have a few drinks with us tonight." Callen said as he slipped on his coat and grabbed his go bag and put it over his shoulder.

Deeks sighed in a defeated tone knowing that since he hadn't 'bragged' about having a date for the night he knew there was no way he was getting out of a few drinks tonight, either with the team or Kensi showing up at his place with burgers and beer. "Ok fine. But I am not paying and I am not DD-ing for any of you." He said and stood up to grab his things.

As the four NCIS employee's made their way to the parking area Deeks was slowly bringing up the rear, which of course did not go unnoticed by Kensi as she listened to Sam and Callen start arguing about which bar they were going to hit up tonight. Slowing her pace to match Deeks Kensi eased herself back to his side and gave him a worried look. "You're not dying form strange and mysterious disease that doesn't have a name are you?" Deeks gave Kensi a strange and confused look as the partners walked side by side towards their respective cars. When he didn't answer her she stepped in front of him and had that determined look in her eyes that matched the equally hard set of her jaw. "Ok what the hell is going on Deeks? Ever since Saturday you've been avoiding me like I have the plague. I don't know how many times I've apologized to you but…"

"Eight." Kensi leaned her head back and her determined face morphed into one of pure confusion at the word muttered by Deeks. "You've apologized to me eight times already and I wish you would stop." Deeks said because deep down in a place he was afraid to let himself think about it hurt that she was apologizing for sleeping with him, something that he was sure had been the greatest night of his life if he hadn't been so drunk that he could remember more than a few images of it.

"Deeks you're starting to worry me." She said softly as she looked him in the eyes. As good of an interrogator as she was Kensi was pretty sure she would never be able to 'break' Deeks. She had built walls up around her emotions and her heart after losing both her father and then Jack walking away from her on Christmas but she knew her emotional walls were nothing like the walls Deeks could hide behind when he slipped into a cover story. Which is exactly what he had just done after he stopped talking, she could see the subtle change in his eyes, knowing she was in a no win situation she reached out and gentle patted his chest and noticed how his muscles became as tight as spring. "Whenever you wanna talk about whatever is bothering you I'll listen." She said and stepped back slowly and made her way to her silver Cadillac.

Deeks stood their unmoving and watched as Kensi climbed into her SRX and slowly pulled out of the parking lot for the building. The truth was even though he was afraid of what the truth would do to the friendship between Kensi and himself Deeks's conscious had been eating away at him ever since Tuesday morning. "Now what am I going to do?" He asked himself as he watched as Kensi's car turned a corner as she headed home.

"That depends entirely on the problem Mr. Deeks." The voice of Hetty called to him from his left and he looked over to see her walking from the building. "Of course judging from your rather eccentric behavior this week the problem you facing may simple be solved by a daily administration of Ritalin." Hetty calmly said as she walked towards the Detective she had a soft spot for. "Or perhaps your actions week have less to do with a medical problem and one of a more personal nature." The Operations Manager fixed a steady yet kind gaze at the shaggy haired man before her.

'_Oh crap Hetty knows…wait what am I saying of course she does this is Hetty we're talking about.'_ Deeks panicked mentally wondering what was going to happen to him now that his boss of all people knew he had slept with Kensi when they were both completely and utterly smashed out of their minds. Sighing in defeat Deeks felt his shoulders sag as he looked at her. "Is there anything you don't know Hetty?"

"The meaning to life but I have heard that the answer is 42." She said with a soft smile and folded her fists together while leaving her index fingers touching and extended as she pointed at them. "Aside Mr. Hannah all I have ever wanted for my agents in this world is that they find someone with whom they can be completely honest with. An individual who understands what it is we do who will always be waiting for them to return, be it from a simple day of paperwork or from a difficult and trying undercover operation. The very thing that is among the few regrets I have because of the life I chose to live Mr. Deeks."

Deeks couldn't help but stare in wonder at the very cryptic woman standing in front of him. Hetty had always been there for her agents in a motherly sort of way when they needed her, often times with advice they didn't know they needed until she gave it to them. "Hetty if you're suggesting what I think you are then you know the truth. And you also know how badly it will go if I go down this road." Deeks said as he mind raced through all the possible outcomes of what was being discussed. "That means you also know the truth about the last female partner I had and why I cannot and will not go down that road again." The pain in Deeks voice was evident as he remembered ever excruciating detail of his last partner's death that had happened right in front of him after their cover had been blown.

"I do." Hetty said with a solemn nod of her head as she forced herself not to remember what she had read in the Deeks personnel file from LAPD. "I also know that Ms. Blye is a most capable young woman. But how long do you think you can keep fighting your own conscious Mr. Deeks? How long before it gets the better of you and you tell her what happened? What do you think will happen if you tell her later instead of sooner?" Hetty said as she held his gaze in an unwavering battle of wills. "The fall out of your desire to protect your partner from this will not only destroy the trust you have in one another, but it will force the walls she had in place before your partnership back up, only this time they will be so damn hard that she will never allow anyone to get through them. And it will destroy you both."

Deeks finally broke eye contact with Hetty and stared at the pavement he was standing on he knew everything she had just told him was the truth. When Deeks finally looked back at Hetty all the pain, confusion and hope he was feeling were written all over his face. "And how do I tell her Hetty. I can't just blurt it out and I can't think of a way to say it that doesn't make it make it less of what it was."

"And what was it Mr. Deeks?"

"A mistake."

"Ah. But do you say it's a mistake because it happened? Or because of how it happened Detective?"

Deeks opened his mouth to answer but he couldn't. Not because he didn't want to but because didn't know the answer. After he slowly closed his mouth Deeks slowly turned around and climbed into his car before driving from the parking area and to his apartment.

**A/N: Sorry for the shorter than normal chapter but this felt like the best place to end for what I wanted to do with this chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Ok so thinks with school are kinda "balanced" right now but it's only the 3****rd**** week so we'll see how long that lasts lol. Now for what you've all been waiting for.**

Deeks stood outside the bar that everyone had agreed to meet up at and after looking in the window he could see all of them, minus Hetty, sitting in a large corner booth laughing and drinking and he was still debating on if he should even go in or not. As Deeks stood their silently debating with himself he felt his phone vibrate in his pockets and he pulled it out and looked at the screen and saw that Kensi had sent him a text.

'Hey you gonna come in?'

When Deeks looked up he spotted Kensi looking at him with a cocky grin on her face like she was proud of herself for spotting him. Shaking his head Deeks pocketed his phone and walked into the bar and made his way towards them. "Hey guys." Deeks greeted everyone warmly having slipped back into character as himself easily enough and everyone eagerly returned his greeting not knowing that he had been outside for the past ten minutes struggling with his decision to join them or not. As he moved to sit on the other side of the boot from Kensi he could tell she was watching him with more than a passing glance and he was seriously reconsider his declaration of not drinking if for no other reason than to shake off the case of nerves he was feeling at the moment.

As the night progressed so did everyone's level of intoxication to varying degrees, especially Kensi who seemed to be drinking heavier each time she tried to start a conversation with Deeks only for him to cut it short of offer to get everyone else drinks. She knew he was avoiding her for some reason and it was starting to get on her nerves but instead of ruining everyone else night she just decided to give up on getting him to talk to her for the night and focused on trying to out drink everyone there. After Deeks had been at the bar with everyone for about two hours Kensi exscused herself and it wasn't until she had been gone for about ten minutes that everyone noticed her absence. Deeks stood up and looked around the bar for his wayward partner and when he spotted her walking straight towards them, or rather trying to walk in a straight line as she was fairly drunk at this point, he froze and felt the blood drain from his face. Kensi Marie Blye badass ninja assassin NCIS Agent had on a red Sombrero, it wasn't the same bright garish red color as the one she had at her apartment but it was a red Sombrero.

"Hey look what I found on the wall." She declared happily and suddenly put her arms out to the side and slightly upward as she struck a pose that matched her words. Everyone else laughed and made a comment about it, everyone that is except for Deeks.

It was that particular point in time that he was trying to figure out if this was some sort of cruel cosmic joke, or if she did in fact know what they had done last weekend. As he stood their trying to regain composure of himself Kensi turned to face him directly and grinned like a child that had just been given a puppy for Christmas. "Do you like it Deeks?"

Deeks forced the lump that had formed in his throat down with a swallow and forced a smile and replied automatically without thinking about his words. "Yeah it looks good on you Fern." As soon as the words left his mouth he had a flashback to last Friday night when Kensi had walked out of her bedroom in only her underwear and her stupidly red Sombrero and they had the same conversation they had just had.

Fate it would seem was a cruel bitch with a twisted sense of humor as Deeks saw the confusion in Kensi's eyes like she was trying to remember something she had forgotten. Panic ran through the very core of Deeks being as he watched realization dawn on Kensi and her face became a mask of embarrassment and regret for a handful of seconds before her normally beautiful face became a twisted mask of pure rage, all of it was directed at the shaggy haired blonde standing in front of her. Deeks could tell how her whole body went from relaxed to extremely intense faster than anything he had ever seen before that his words had sparked the one particular memory he had been afraid of her recovering. She knew.

"No….." Kensi's softly muttered as she looked at Deeks and it almost broke his heart to see the pure unfiltered look of betrayal on her beautiful face. In one swift motion she pushed the sombrero off her head and hurried past Deeks, or rather she tried to but we stopped when he grabbed her arm just above the elbow. "Let go of me." Kensi kept her back to him and he could barely hear the soft voice she had used over the loud ambient noise of the bar.

"Kensi please…."

"Deeks let me go." Her voice took on a hard edge and waited a couple of seconds for Deeks to do as she commanded, when he failed to remove his offending appendage she turned around and punched him as hard as she could. Kensi had punched Deeks before but it had always been in the arm or shoulder, never had she punched him in the face and the shock of this along with the force of her right hook to the side of his jaw knocked him off balanced and he would have fallen on his backside if not for the table that the rest of the OSP team was sitting at. "Don't ever touch me again." Kensi snarled at him as she glared daggers at him before turning around and storming out of the building and jumped in the first cab she could find.

Deeks stood their leaning against the table his vision blurry from the solid right hook Kensi had just given him. He had always known she could put some force into her punches but she had never hit him that hard before. As he blinked to clear his vision he spotted the shocked looks on everyone's face except for the stoic and unreadable expression on Callen's face. Without saying a word Deeks slowly stood up and turned around and walked out of the bar and towards his car.

After she had paid the cab Kensi stormed to the door of her apartment and unlocked it and slammed it shut behind her. She had always prided herself on being able to control her emotions no matter the situation but right now she was absolutely positively pissed off beyond belief. As Kensi searched her slowly returning memories from last Friday night she knew they were both drunk out of their minds but it didn't change the fact that she and Deeks had spent a considerable amount of time together, naked and in her bed.

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter but I wanted to get an update out and need to get used to writing stories again since.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry for the LONG delay since my last update. Things have been hectic with school but I'm pretty sure I have a handle on things now. So I figure I'll update this story work on an update for one of the other ones.**

The rest of the weekend had been completely uneventful and boring for Kensi and she was thankful for that. She knew she had overreacted with Deeks when she had finally remembered the night that she and Deeks had spent together on her birthday she had felt betrayed, humiliated and angry, angry at herself and angry at Deeks. After years of his incessant flirting and completely unprofessional remarks about her and her sex life Deeks had finally gotten what he wanted.

Or rather that was her first train of thought, but after she had calmed down and had a full night's sleep Kensi realized that Deeks was her best friend and would never do anything to betray that trust of hurt her, both physically and emotionally. By Sunday afternoon Kensi had accepted the fact that they were both extremely drunk and it was simply to adults who work together and their "thing" finally came to a head. Yes it had been a mistake and yes Kensi wished it had never happened. But it did and it was something she would talk to Deeks about this morning when she got to work.

As Kensi pulled into the parking garage that was secretly connected to the Office of Special Projects she spotted Sam's Charger but noticed Callen's car was absent but since the two senior members of the OSP team often rode together it wasn't too surprising. Deeks Mailibu wasn't there yet but it was still "early" compared to when Deeks usually showed up. Shrugging off Deek's late arrival Kensi grabbed her shoulder bag and walked into the "condemned" Water Administration Building and made her way to the bullpen. As she put her bag on her portion of the table she and Callen shared she smiled at the two male agents of the team.

"Morning Guys."

" Hey there Rocky." Sam playfully teased her with a cocky grin on his face. Kensi rolled her eyes at him and sighed heavily as her shoulders sagged.

"Ok I over reacted with Deeks."

"What the hell did he do to make you slug him like that?" Callen asked even though he had a pretty good idea since Kensi had told Deeks, and by extension the entire bar 'that he would never touch her again'. Callen had always known there has something between the two younger partners. Hell he had gone through the same thing with Tracy when he worked for the CIA and even that had happened to Sam and Michelle when they worked together during Sam's time with the SEAL Team. It wasn't that Callen was completely against that happening it's just that more often than not he saw that it didn't work out. Hell Michelle had 'retired' from the CIA in order to make her relationship with Sam work.

"Look guys I get that what happened Friday night was shocking for everyone to see but its something between me and Deeks and its going to stay that way." Kensi paused long enough to give them both a rather pointed stare that told them not to push her on this. "I will talk to Deeks when he gets in this morning."

"I'm afraid that won't be an option Ms. Blye." Hetty said as she made her way into the bullpen with her hands clasped behind he back and her face turned to the floor. "Dective Deeks is no longer your partner Ms. Blye." Hetty said in a finite and professional tone of voice.

"What? Oh come on Hetty you can't split us up over this. I made a mistake and I'll talk to Deeks. I'm sure everything will be fine, it will just take us some time."

"Time that you no longer have Kensi." Hetty said as she lifted her head and looked at the female of the team with a completely unreadable expression on her face. Kensi stared at her boss in shock for a few second before a thought that filled her with dread began to run laps in her head.

"Wait…..are….Am I being fired?" Kensi asked in shock. This of course received an immediate reaction from both Sam and Callen as they practically jumped to their feet and moved to stand beside Kensi effectively flanking her.

"Perish the thought Ms. Blye." Kensi said shaking her head and wave her hands in a gesture that universally meant no. "Detective Deeks was waiting for me when I arrived and tendered his immediate resignation from his position as our LAPD Liaison Officer."

"Deeks quit?" Sam asked completely shocked. Sure he and Deeks never really got along because they were completely opposites in every since way imaginable, but Sam never pegged Deeks as a quitter. "Why?"

"Mr. Deeks did not give me a concrete reason for his impromptu departure only that there were some issues he had been dealing with off duty over the past two weeks." Hetty said as she quickly glanced at Kensi before she turned around and walked out of the bullpen leaving a stunned and shocked team behind her.

As Sam and Callen began to talk about what could cause Deeks to leave Kensi was lost in her own world as he thoughts raced around one inescapable fact. Deeks had left, just like every other man in her left. Only this time was different she had pushed him to this and the scene of her punching him in the bar replayed over and over in her head, only now she noticed the split second look of hurt, regret and betrayal that had been in written clearly all over his face. Deeks had left and it was all her fault she had pushed him away. Kensi suddenly stormed out of the bullpen and back towards her car and jerked the driver side door before she practically leaped into it and slammed the car door shut and drover towards an address she could find in her sleep if she had to, the apartment of one Detective Martin Andrew Deeks.

**A/N: yeah I know I'm an asshole for making you wait so long than giving you a chapter that's just over 1000 words. But the season premier is tonight and I wanted to get a chapter out and back into the swing of writing because school has been in**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: About giving you a chapter this weekend….I LIED!**

Kensi had been blasting a My Chemical Romance from her car as she basically broke ever single traffic law on her way to Deeks apartment. In fact she had practically set a new land speed record en route. All the misplaced anger she had felt Friday night after her sudden memories of her and Deeks together in her bed had returned with a vengeance, even more so when the memories of Deeks once telling her he would be with her every step of the way, promising not to get himself killed along with ever other single serious conversation they had ever had in the past dancing around in her head. As Kensi pulled to a stop in front of Deeks apartment building near the beach she was parked, turned off, and exited her car in one fast swift motion as she stormed towards Deeks door.

"DEEKS! Open up!" Kensi shouted at the hard metal door as she began to beat on it with her fist. After waiting a few seconds Kensi beat on the door hard and faster, when that didn't work she pulled out the spare key he had given her in case something happened and she had to take care of Monty for him and let herself in.

"Deeks where are you?" Kensi called out as she walked further into the apartment leaving the door open behind her. As Kensi trekked deeper into the apartment of her partner, or rather ex-partner she noticed that that Monty hadn't come rushing to greet her like he always did whenever she was there for burgers and beer with Deeks.

"Monty?" Kensi asked softly as she walked towards Deeks bedroom knowing that Monty sometimes napped on his owner's bed. When Kensi didn't see the retired Police Bomb Detection Dog she sighed heavily and frowned at the lack of her partner and his dog and stood there a couple seconds before she reached into her coat pocket to retrieve her cellphone when she heard a sound behind her that made her heart skip a couple beats.

A metallic click followed by a fast paced double snap let Kensi know that someone had just cocked and taken the safety off of a pistol, which she was sure was pointed at her back.

"LAPD don't move." The voice of her partner roughly ordered her. Sure she had heard him direct those very words at suspects in the past standing there in his dimly lit bedroom and knowing that he was point a loaded 9mm at her back, mostly likely right between the shoulder blade for a perfect kill shot, just like she had showed him once, and it send a chill down her spine and not the good kind.

"Deeks it's me." Kensi said very calmly and slowly without moving. Suddenly the lights in the room turned on and she had to blink her eyes at the unexpected brightness before she turned around to face Deeks who had a serious and rather pissed off look on his face as he slowly eased the hammer back into place and put his pistol's safety in the 'on' position.

"What do you want? Here to punch me again." Deeks said in a cold an unflinching tone that almost reminded her of when he had assumed his Max Gentry identity.

"Deeks I'm…"

"No! You don't get to break into my apartment three days after you punch me and say you're sorry." Deeks said as he stood their defiantly glaring at Kensi.

"So that's why you quit? I punch you and you turn in your papers to Hefty and just walk away?" Kensi fired back her anger returning and even though she knew this isn't how she wanted the conversation to go Deeks seemed to be intentionally egging her on.

"Maybe, maybe not. Why do you care I'm just a cop. A cop that was the best LAPD could do for a liaison position." Deeks said throwing back the very first words Kensi had said about him on his first day as their liaison Officer, his voice dripping with venom and sarcasm.

"Deeks look that was a long time ago. I didn't know you then." Kensi said trying to reason with him and calm their heated conversation down a notch or two.

"Yeah well you still don't know anything about my Kensi. If you did you wouldn't have acted like you did Friday night."

"How…How I acted? You're the one that slept with me and ran out sometime after …after…"

"After we had sex."

"Is that what it was Deeks? Because I was pretty drunk, so drunk in fact I didn't remember anything until Friday night. And you never once said word one to me about it." Kensi challenged him with a firm set jaw. She knew deep down that Deeks would never in a million year do what she just accused him of when it came to her but she was mad and hurt that he would just leave her, the same way every other man that mattered in her life had left her and she wanted to hurt him the same way, even if it was petty and childish.

"What did you just say to me?" Deeks said as he narrowed his eyes at her and took a menacing step forward and Kensi couldn't help back take an involuntary step back from him.

"Deek…I"

"GET OUT!" Deeks roared at her making her flinch.

"Deeks please I'm so.." Kensi apology was cut off as Deeks react out and grabbed her left bicep and practically shoved her out of his bedroom and towards the door.

"Anyone else I could take that from but you, you of all fucking people to say that to me. This is why I left. You obviously don't trust me anymore." Deeks face was flushed red and he was so mad his hands were shaking. What unnerved Kensi the most was that the intense look in Deeks face was the same when Moreano had asked Deeks if his last partner with LAPD, the late Detective Trainer, had been good in bed and the OSP team had to talk him down from killing the crooked Detective on the spot.

"I was going to tell you Kensi. All of last week I wanted to tell you but I was scared and didn't know how. I finally decided to tell you and hope we could work it out but what you just accused me of and the fact that you hit me for real in the jaw are all the proof I need that you don't trust me." Deeks sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair as eh looked at the floor. "After everything we've been though for you to say that to me Kensi…just go away." All the anger had left Deeks voice and it was barely above a whisper as he refused to look at her. They two of them stood there, Deeks looking at the floor and Kensi at him realizing just how royally she had screwed up things between them, neither moving. After almost a full minute Deeks looked at Kensi with watery eyes of the tears he was fighting so desperately to keep in check.

"Just go away Kensi." Deeks said sounding broken as he turned around and walked into his bedroom and close the door followed by the soft click of it locking into place. Feeling angry, hurt and rejected Kensi slowly turned around and walked out of his apartment closing the door behind her, the simple twenty feet that separated them felt like twenty miles right now and she knew that they would never been partners of friends before and that it was her fault. She should have never accused Deeks of getting her drunk just to get her in bed and that she shouldn't have punched him like she did.

As she stood there she refused to let her emotions run wild and forced them down as she went into her "Agent Mode" as De…..Kensi gritted her teeth and set her lips into a thin hard line as she forced that memory away. Suddenly her cellphone went off and she looked down at it seeing that Callen was calling.

"Go ahead Callen."

"Did you find Deeks?" Callen asked calmly even though Kensi figured he already knew the answer to that since Hetty had everyone's home under surveillance and they probably tracked her and Deeks cellphones.

"Yeah….I'm on my way back right now."

"And Deeks?"

Kensi wanted to reply but the words failed her since the fight that she and Deeks had just head was so fresh in her mind that she simply hung up on the team leader. Kensi walked to her car and soon she was driving back to the old Water Administration building that was a cover for the OSP.

That had been about three weeks ago and none of them had heard from Deeks, even Eric hadn't seen him out surfing, which led them to believe that Deeks was completely avoiding them. This of course left mixed feelings among the team. Callen knew that something had happened between Deeks and Kensi and that it had led to him leaving but he never mentioned that to Kensi. Sam was pissed at Deeks, first because he had spent years working with them and had never taken the leap from LAPD to NCIS and then he just up and quit on them leaving them all high and dry. Eric and Nell were both confused and sad that Deeks was no longer around since he had always been a good friend to both of them and even snuck Oreo's up to them once in a great while when they had been working on something he didn't understand for several hours on end.

As Sam and Callen were joking at each other's expense Kensi walked in looking like she hadn't gotten any sleep last night. This of course caused Sam to snicker at her with a lopsided grin and a raised eyebrow. "Long night Kens?"

"What was his name?" Callen tossed his witty comment into the mix smugly as he gave her a cocky grin.

"Ha ha very funny." Kensi snapped back tiredly at them and moved her hand to cover a yawn. "No I've just been really tired lately is all. Like I can't get enough sleep tired."

"I've been telling you for years that all that junk food was going to catch up to you Kensi. Especially those powdered strawberry doughnuts." Sam joked but suddenly got serious when Kensi moved her hand back over her mouth like she was trying to keep something in and her other hand flew protectively to her stomach and her body jerked involuntary.

"Please don't mention that Sam. Just thinking about them makes me…" Suddenly Kensi jumped up to her feet and raced towards the woman's restroom. Callen and Sam shared a worried expression and quickly moved to follow her. After a few minutes of listening to Kensi throw up through the door it finally opened and she made eye contact with both of them sheepishly.

"Kensi you ok? If you're sick I'll cover for you with Hetty." Callen said in a worried big brother tone of voice as he looked at her.

"Guys I'm fine, really. It's probably just the Thai I had for dinner last night is all. I mean I did wake up in the middle of the night with heartburn." Kensi said as she tried to squeeze past them and for some reason being close to Sam she was able to smell his after shave and she had to pause a second to calm her suddenly upset stomach. "Just do me a favor Sam and give me some distance your after shave isn't helping right now." Kensi said as she walked back to the bullpen.

"G you go talk to Hetty. I'll talk to Kensi." Sam said as he watched Kensi walk off before he turned to look at Callen. "What?" he asked indignantly at the strange expression on his partner's face.

"Wanna trade?"

"Do you?"

"Still trying to figure out which one is the safer option."

Sam scowled at Callen and shoved him in the general direction of Hetty's desk before he made his way to the bullpen to talk to Kensi and silently prayed that she wasn't armed, or that she wouldn't kick him in the family jewels.

"Something I can do for you Mr. Callen?" Hetty asked as she took a sip of her tea and looked at him over the rim over her glasses.

"Actually there is. I need you to give Kensi the day off." Callen said as he sat down in a chair across from Hetty.

"And why are you asking instead of Miss. Blye?"

"Well I think Kensi might be sick and we both know she will try to push through it. That and we don't have any current open cases."

"Why would you assume Miss Blye is sick?" Hetty asked slightly concerned as she directed her gaze towards Sam and Kensi.

"Sam mentioned powdered sugar strawberry donuts and Kensi ran to the bathroom to throw up." Callen said in a manner of fact tone. Hetty instantly snapped her eyes to Callen's and he raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"Did she say anything else Mr. Callen?" Hetty asked in a manner that set off a slight warning bell in the senior field agents head and he gave her a puzzled look.

"Yeah….Said she's been tired lately and that she woke up with heart burn in the middle of the night….Is this something serious Hetty?" Callen asked as worry began to creep in his voice and he turned around to look at Kensi and noticed that she was glaring Daggers at Sam before she suddenly turned her gaze on Callen, who of course instantly turned around to look at Hetty deciding she was indeed the safer of the two options. At least Hetty would kill him quickly, he hoped.

"Yes Mr. Callen you may send Miss Blye home. Under orders from myself if need be." Hetty said as she leaned back in her chair kept her features perfectly controlled as she returned to the reports and tea on her desk. "Is there anything else you need Mr. Callen?"

"Nope that's it." Callen said as she stood and walked over to the bullpen.

Hetty watched the exchange between her agents and watched as Kensi tried to argue with Callen about letting her stay and the resulting defeated slump of Kensi's shoulders when Callen played the Hetty card. After Kensi walked out of the building and Sam and Callen headed towards the armory Hetty reached out to her phone and quickly dialed a number she had memorized years ago and wait as the phone rang on the other end before it was picked up.

"We have a problem….No we should meet in person to talk about this…..Very well I will, ten minutes." With that the legendary and diminutive Operations Manger hung up the phone and walked out of her office.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Here's another chapter and I'm really looking forward to what you guys think. So please leave a review (I thrive off them)**

As Hetty sat at the table in the boat shed she could understand the heavy sigh of frustration that the man across from her let out. "And you're sure about this?"

"I don't have medical confirmation is that's what you're asking but the time and the signs are all there." Hetty said softly as she looked at Lt. Bates as he ran a hand over his jaw before he rested it on the table and turned a studying gaze towards Hetty.

"This better not be some ploy by NCIS to bring Deeks back. I don't know what happened to make him leave but Deeks practically begged me for a long term deep cover assignment when he came back." Bates said as he used his legendary interrogation skills on Hetty, even though he knew he wouldn't get anything from her.

"I may not be above underhanded tactics when the situation warrants them Lieutenant. That being said given both Agent Blye and Detectives Deeks past history with family this is not one of those situations." Hetty said calmly and paused briefly to let Bates know that she was telling the truth. "I will arrange for Agent Blye to undergo a physical under the guise of fullu updating her medical and bio-metric information. Can I assume that you will inform Mr. Deeks of Ms. Blye's condition?"

"When you know for sure and when Deeks finishes his current assignment, yeah I'll tell him."

"And may I ask what his assignment is?" Hetty asked politely and with genuine interest. But the look Bates was giving her was one of mistrust. "Oh come now this is more than just a LAPD Operation now. We are talking about two of our people and their unborn child. If we can help with surveillance or anything else that might bring Detective Deeks home safely." Bates sighed and knew that he wasn't going to be able to leave without giving Hetty some information, which is why he brought a small USB drive a file with a few pictures in it.

"Deeks has been deep cover with the local Arian Brotherhood here in L.A. Over the past four months they have been slowly taking out the small crews in town, giving anyone who is left standing a white a chance to join them, anyone that refuses." Bates paused as he placed sever rather brutal crime scene photos on the table. "They make an example out of as 'race traitors'. After they take over a crew's area they also take over their business. In the last month alone they have almost doubled their guns, drugs and prostitution rings." Bates continued to lay out all the information Hetty would need to have NCIS provide logistical support. "These guys are ruthless, sadistic and smart. Standard means of tracking and surveillance have all failed and the last two officers we had tail a high ranked member of the gang ended up in the ICU."

Hetty had seen some pretty gruesome crime scenes before but this level of brutality was almost on par with the most ruthless of men she had encountered in her long and storied career. "And you sent Detective Deeks in with these men?" Hetty was shocked as Roger Bates had always struck her as the type of boss who looked out for his people.

"I tried to talk him out of it, believe me Deeks is a good cop and an even better undercover operator. If anyone has a shot of making this case stick and shutting these guys down before they cause and all out gang war, its Deeks." Bates held up a folder he had yet to open and made sure Hetty could see it. "I need you to understand just how deep this cover is so that if your people do come across Deeks they know to completely avoid and ignore him. Especially Agent Blye." Hetty did not miss the emphasis Bates used in the last half of his most recent statement, and watched as Bates put a picture of Deeks on the table that looked the same as Deeks always had, shaggy un-brushed hair and a weeks' worth of scruff on his jawline.

The next picture looked nothing like the LAPD Detective that had worked side by side Hetty's team of agents over the past few years. The man in the new picture had a slightly darker tan. A slick shaved head and a thick goatee. While Hetty was not unfamiliar with undercover operatives changing their appearance for a case she was however not expecting the four in Swastika on the right side of Deeks neck and the cold almost angry look in his eyes.

"Oh dear." Hetty softly exclaimed unable to keep her shock at bay and looked up to make eye contact with Bates.

"No you know why I tried to talk him out of this." Bates said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "We both know that a tough assignment can affect a person and Deeks has been lucky and been able to shrug almost everything off that's been thrown at him…..but this case…..It's going to change him. If he makes it out of this alive he's going to need someone to be there for him. And I'm not just talking about a psychologist." Bates looked at the picture of how Deeks currently looked and frowned slightly. "Over the past two weeks Eli Jacobs has commit about a dozen crimes, all in order to protect his cover and get in closer to the gang. He's new and even though Deeks looks and talks the part they don't completely trust him….But if what you told me about Kensi is true I'll pull him out and bring in NCIS to wrap this case up immediately. It might not be the slam dunk case I would like but it will cripple them, might even put enough of them away that the other gangs take them out or run them out of L.A." Bates said as he placed the thumb drive next to the photos and files on the table.

"And for the record Hetty I hope that your hunch about Agent Blye and Deeks is right. Lord knows that kid deserves something good like this in his life and it will help keep him grounded. Deeks has always been a little reckless when it comes to how willing he is to get into a deep cover op…Maybe, just maybe this is what he needs for him to pull his head out of his ass." Bates said as she stood up and buttoned his jacket. "I'll keep you in the loop." With that Roger Bates walked out of the boatshed and towards his car.

After a few moments to allow Bates to leave and to collect her thoughts and control her emotions Hettty slowly stood up and gathered the things Bates had left for her. After she had collected and organized them she pulled her cellphone from her purse and dialed the number to Ops. "Miss Jones I need you to assemble everyone, except for Ms. Blye I need to see her in my office when I return….I should be there momentarily. The LAPD has contacted us about a case and have asked for logistical support, which we will give them every bit of help we can. I will explain things completely when I return."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Here's another chapter and I'm really looking forward to what you guys think. So please leave a review (I thrive off them)**

As Callen and Sam walked into Ops the smaller of the two men had a towel around his neck and was still wiping off his ears and what passed for hair on his head while the two partners walked to stand between the table and big screen in Ops.

"What have you got for us Eric?"

"It's not Mr. Beale who summoned you here but myself." Hetty said as she walked in seconds after Sam and Callen holding a manila folder in her hand and small black USB drive in the other. "Mr. Jones if you would." Hetty said as she handed the USB drive to the intelligence analyst who was just barely taller than herself. "A short time ago I received a call from the LAPD for assistance with an operation they are conducting."

"Deeks quit, remember Hetty." Sam said still slightly pissed off at Deeks and his anger seeped into his words. "That pretty much cut our ties with LAPD."

Hetty stared impassively at Sam for a small handful of seconds before nodding her head. As much as she wanted to inform the members of the team that were present about her suspicions regarding Kensi and Deeks she had no proof and it would only make the situation worse so, for the time being, she kept them to herself. "While we have no official ties with LAPD, as you so bluntly put it Mr. Hannah, this office still operates primarily within their jurisdiction. Which means we still have to maintain a certain level of professional relationship with them."

The entire time she had been speaking Hetty never once broke her gaze with Sam. While she understood that Sam's background made it hard for him to understand and accept when someone quit out of the blue, as Deeks did, but after all this time she would have assumed Sam would have gotten used to, and accepted, the fact that he was no longer in the Navy or an active SEAL. Sam wisely nodded at Hetty and held his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

"So what's the Op?" Callen asked as he tried to steer the conversation away from Deeks and to the matter at hand since he knew that Deeks was still a bit of a sore subject with Sam.

"Ms. Jones if you would be so kind." Hetty said as she motioned her left arm at pixie like red head and moved off to the side by herself.

"It looks like the LAPD has been trying to build a case centered…centered on the Arian Brotherhood." Nell paused and cast a worried look at Sam.

"It's ok Nell. Not the first time I've been exposed to racism." Sam said as he motioned for her to continue.

"Over the last four months the Brotherhood has been targeting and taking out a large number of the smaller gangs and crews in LA. They….uh…..They give any surviving member of a crew of gang that is still alive a chance to join them. Anyone that doesn't is used as an example." Nell said and as she looked at the photos in the file she had to force herself to maintain her composer as she sent them to the big screen along with the other information she had read over so far.

"An example for what?" Callen asked as he looked at a few incredible brutal crime scene photos of deceased white males. When Nell didn't answer him he looked at her and could tell the information was a little troubling for her to see. "Nell?"

"Huh? Oh right….Sorry." Nell looked at Eric and he understood her silent plea and he moved his chair closer to her and looked at the file.

"Anyone who refuses the Brotherhoods so called recruitment offer is…..is beat to death as a race traitor." Eric said shocked and had to look away from the computer for a few seconds. Thankfully Sam and Callen gave the two Ops wonder twins the time they needed to compose themselves.

While Sam and Callen were no strangers to violence and violent deaths they knew that Nell and Eric weren't as worldly in that department and gave them time to get themselves back together and busied themselves with reading the information on the large plasma screen.

"So in the past few months these guys have taken over crews and gangs that have their fingers in everything from drugs, to prostitution, to illegal gambling." Callen said as he looked at the information before he turned to face Hetty. "Why are we getting called to help with this? Nothing here sticks out as anything that falls in our jurisdiction."

Hetty sighed heavily as she looked over to Nell. "Miss Jones in there is a file with information about the UC for this case. Please pull it up." As Nell began to scan through the information in the USB Drive Hetty turned to face the members of OSP Investigative team. "While Miss Jones retrieves the information I ask that you all keep an open mind. Please." When Hetty said please Callen could have sworn he almost heard a pleading tone in her voice and he shared a confused Look with Sam. What happened next he never in a million years would have expected.

There on the plasma was a picture of Deeks as they had all seen him, scruffy beard and shaggy almost out of control hair. But the image next to Deeks face send a collective gasp throughout the room. It was Deeks with a shaved head, thick goatee and a swastika tattoo about 4 inches in size on the left side of his neck.

"Oh Deeks." Nell's soft and heartbroken voice was the only noise that broke the deafening silence in Ops and her hand involuntarily moved to cover her mouth.

"What the hell?" Sam finally found his voice after what seemed an eternity. He knew that Deeks liked to go method when he went undercover but this, this was deeper than anything Sam had ever seen for an undercover assignment. "You want us to help Deeks? The same Deeks who just up and quit on us a month ok and now we are supposed to act like everything is fine and nothing happened."

"Sam!" Callen said shocked at his partner's outburst. Sure Sam had a sore spot about Deeks quitting but this was out of line.

"No G! Not this time. First he quits and now Hetty wants up to pull his ass out of the fire." Sam said as he turned to look at Callen and when he saw the shocked and surprised look on Callen's face Sam sighed heavily and looked at everyone and the looks of disbelief and shock on their faces before he stormed out of Ops.

"Sam wait!" Callen shouted after him as the large frame of the former SEAL left ops in a rush. "Eric..Nell, can you give us the room." The tone Callen used let the two he addressed know that it was not a request and they silently nodded at him before the followed Sam's lead and left Ops.

"Something on your mind Mr. Callen?" Hetty asked as she steeled herself for the coming confrontation.

"What's really going on here Hetty?" Callen said calmly as he turned to face her. "We've known each other a long time so let's just cut past all the smoke and mirrors and get to what's really going on."

"There is nothing going on Mr. Callen, I assure you. Lt. Bats has reached out to us because he worries for Detectives Deeks wellbeing and knows we have access to logistical and surveillance resources that vastly dwarf those of the LAPD." Hetty said evenly as she told a rather convincing bold faced lie to her team leader.

"I know there is more than that going on Hetty and just once, especially this time, I need to know what the real play is." Callen held Hetty's gaze and crossed his arms over his chest. "After everything you've held back from us over the years that has come back to bite us in the ass you owe us this much."

"What are you saying Mr. Callen?"

"I'm saying this." Callen paused and pointed at the picture of a swastika tattooed Deeks. "Is more than a typical LAPD Op. I know that you like to play things close to the vest but if Deeks quitting has been one of your little schemes it's going to backfire and tear this team apart." Callen said unable to keep his voice from raising slightly, and when he saw that Hetty wasn't going to budge he played the last card he could think of. "What do you think this is going to do to Kensi when she finds out?"

Unable to stop her self Hetty's eyes widen for a second before she schooled her features and set her lips in a hard firm line as she glared at Callen. "Under no circumstance is Ms. Blye to find out what Mr. Deeks current situation is."

"And why is that Hetty?" Callen said finally getting somewhere with Hetty, or rather he thought he had until Hetty slipped back into her impassive facial expression and simply held out a folder for Callen.

"What's this?" He asked as he reached out to take it from her.

"That, Mr. Callen is why Ms. Blye cannot know about Detective Deeks operation and why none of you are to contact him in anyway shape of form while he is undercover." Hetty said simply as she waited for Callen to open the folder. "The pictures you see are they handy work of the Brotherhood."

As Callen looked at the photos of two men in what appeared to be an ICU a lump formed in his throat. "Did….Did Deeks do this?" He asked softly. It wasn't that Callen actually thought Deeks would do that, it's just that he knew there were times while undercover you had to do drastic things to maintain your cover. Sure you tried to justify it as 'for the greater good' or 'something that had to be done' but it never changed the fact that nine times out of ten you broke the very laws you swore to uphold and protect.

"Perish the thought Mr. Callen!" Hetty said shocked even though she understood Callen's train of thought. "Those two detectives were conducting simple surveillance on the brotherhood, completely unobtrusive. The gentleman here." Hetty pointed at the red head detective with gauze wrapped around his head and over his left eye. "Is Detective Second Grade Alex Hamm. He has lost the use of his left eye and is still in a coma. During the attack he suffered multiple broken bones including his ribs and several bones in his face located around his left eye, the doctors believe he was kicked in the face repeatedly. His partner Detective Sergeant Michael Filtz had his jaw broken in two places and had to have surgery to repair both of his knees."

Hetty turned around and took a few small steps away from Callen and forced herself to look at the picture of Deeks on the plasma. "Those officers were only conducting surveillance. I shudder to think what horrors these….animals would inflict on Detective Deeks should his cover be blown."

"Ok…I'll….I'll talk to Sam and explain things to him. But I have a condition Hetty."

"This is not a negotiation Mr. Callen!" Hetty practically shouted as she quickly turned to face Callen. "Mr. Deeks life is in very real danger"

"I know that Hetty. But when this is all over and we get Deeks out you are going to tell me exactly what is going on." Callen said calmly as he closed the folder and held it loosely at his side. "I mean it Hetty. You are always keeping things from us and most of the time it's for our own good. But I'm the team leader and I need to know what is going on with my team."

"You need to know what I tell you to know Mr. Callen. That is why I am the Operations Manager for this office."

Callen leveled an ice cold glare at Hetty. "Then maybe we need a change in the status quo." Callen said before he walked past Hetty and out of Ops.


End file.
